Physical Assessment
Wanda Dooley, MSN, RN, CS, FNP
Office location: 316C
Office telephone: 822-6583
Email: wdooley@nvcc.edu
Required Reading
 Review
chapter 27 in Kozier and Erb - you are
expected to know normal vital signs and how to
assess them
 Today’s lecture: K&E p. 523 – 580, 588-592, and
p. 263 (review chapter 16): components of a
nursing health history
 Recommended videos: HTVC 5222 through 5227
– One for each major system
– On reserve in A-V lab
 Next
week: K&E pages 580 - 625
 Chapter highlights – read them, and answer
review questions
 Study Guide – use it
 Lemone & Burke – use it to look up nursing
diagnoses/nursing interventions/plan of care
Physical Health Assessment
 Nursing
history and physical examination
 Nurses use physical assessment skills to:
– Develop (obtain baseline data) and expand the data
base from which subsequent phases of the nursing
process can evolve
– To identify and manage a variety of patient problems
(actual and potential)
– Evaluate the effectiveness of nursing care
– Enhance the nurse-patient relationship
– Make clinical judgments
 Except
for those occasions when you see a
patient specifically to conduct a nursing
assessment, the assessment must be
integrated into routine nursing care
– Example: the bath is a perfect time to
incorporate assessment skills
 See
Box 28-1 for the Head-to-Toe
framework that is used for assessment
 Subjective
data - Said by the client
– (S)
 Objective
data - Observed by the nurse
– (O)
 Nursing
Process
– SOAPIER
Preparing for the assessment
 Explain
when, where and why the
assessment will take place
 Help the client prepare (empty bladder,
change clothes)
 Prepare the environment (lighting,
temperature, equipment, drapes, privacy
– See Table 28-2 for equipment used during
assessment
Positioning
 Positions
used during nursing assessment, medical
examinations, and during diagnostic procedures:
–
–
–
–
–
–

Dorsal recumbent
Supine
Sims
Prone
Lithotomy
Genupectoral
See Table 28-2 for client positions
Assessment Techniques
 Inspection
–
–
–
–
–
- critical observation
Take time to “observe” with eyes, ears, nose
Use good lighting
Look at color, shape, symmetry, position
Odors from skin, breath, wound
Develop and use nursing instincts
 Inspection
is done alone and in combination
with other assessment techniques
Assessment Techniques
 Palpation
- light and deep touch
– Back of hand to assess skin temperature
– Fingers to assess texture, moisture, areas of
tenderness
– Assess size, shape, and consistency of lesions
– See Box 28-4, p. 529 to describe characteristics
of masses
Assessment Techniques
 Percussion
- sounds produced by striking
body surface
– Produces different notes depending on
underlying mass (dull, resonant, flat, tympani)
– Used to determine size and shape of underlying
structures by establishing their borders and
indicates if tissue is air-filled, fluid-filled, or
solid
– See table 28-4, page 530 for percussion notes
Assessment Techniques

Auscultation - listening to sounds produced by the
body
» Direct auscultation – sounds are audible without stethoscope
» Indirect auscultation – uses stethoscope
– Know how to use stethoscope properly (practice)
– Fine-tune your ears to pick up subtle changes (practice)
– Describe sound characteristics (frequency, pitch
intensity, duration, quality) (practice)
» Flat diaphragm picks up high-pitched respiratory sounds best
» Bell picks up low pitched sounds such as heart murmurs
» Practice using BOTH diaphragms

PRACTICE
Complete History and Physical
 Nursing
history is subjective - includes things like
biographic data, the chief complaint, source of the
data, history of present illness, past medical
history, immunization history, allergies, habits
(tobacco, ETOH), stressors, family history
including genogram, patterns of health care, and a
review of the body’s systems
 See Figure 16-4, pp. 270-271
History of Present Illness
 HPI
is a chronological story of what has been
happening
– Must get details of the problem, therefore must be
systematic
– OLFQQAAT (one system – there are others): onset,
location, frequency, quality, quantity, aggravating
factors, alleviating factors, associated symptoms,
treatments tried (include all treatments - Rx, OTC,
herbal, folk)
– Lots of systems – find one that works, and use it
 Use
whatever system works for you, but
use a system (OLFQQAAT, PQRST, pain
intensity scales, etc)
– Pain, quality/quantity, radiation, setting, timing
– Rate pain from 1 to 10
– Use age appropriate tools (faces)
 Culturally
appropriate care
Exam Order and Documentation
 Date
and identifying data - name, age, sex, race,
place of birth (if pertinent), marital status,
occupation, religion
 Source and reliability of history
 Chief complaint = reason for visit (succinct)
 HPI - the long version of the CC (OLFQQAAT)
 PMH - general health, childhood illness, adult
illnesses, psychiatric illnesses, injuries,
hospitalizations, surgery, immunizations, habits,
allergies (NKDA)
 CAGE
questions:
1. Have you ever thought you should Cut down
2. Have you ever been Annoyed by criticism of your
drinking?
3. Have you ever felt Guilty about drinking?
4. Do you ever have an Eye-opener in the morning?

YES to any of the above questions - need to
investigate further to see if there is a drinking
problem
Order & Documentation
 FH
- age and health of parents and siblings or
cause of death (genogram); HTN, DM, CVD, Ca,
HA, arthritis, addictions
 ROS (subjective head-to-toe review)
– General - recent wt. change, fatigue, fever
– Skin - rashes, lesions, changes, dryness, itching, color
change, hair loss, change in hair or nails
– Eyes - change in vision, floaters, glasses, HA, pain
Order & Documentation
 ROS
– Ears - pain, loss of hearing, vertigo, ringing, discharge,
infections
– Nose and sinuses - frequent colds, congestion, HA,
nosebleed
– Mouth and throat - condition of teeth and gums, last
dental visit, hoarseness, frequent sore throats
– Neck - lumps, stiffness, goiter
– Breasts - lumps, pain, discharge, BSE
Order & Documentation
 ROS
– Respiratory - cough, sputum, wheezing, asthma,
COPD, last PPD, last CXR, smoking history (can do
here, or with “habits”)
– Cardiac - heart trouble, chest pain, SOB, murmur, h/o
rheumatic fever, past EKG, FH of heart disease <50 yrs
of age
– GI - problems swallowing, heartburn, vomiting, bowel
habits, pain, jaundice
– Urinary - frequency, incontinence, pain, burning,
hesitancy, nocturia, polyuria
Order & Documentation
 ROS
– Genitalia - lesions, discharge, sexual
orientation, sexual function, menstrual history,
contraception, pregnancy history, TSE
– Peripheral vascular - intermittent claudication,
varicose veins, blood clots
– MS - muscle or joint pain, redness, stiffness,
warmth, swelling, family history
– Neuro - fainting, blackouts, seizures, weakness
Order & Documentation
 ROS
– Endocrine - sweats, skin change, heat or cold
intolerance, excessive thirst (polydipsia),
excessive urination (polyuria), weight change,
menstrual changes
– Psychiatric - mental illness, thoughts of
harming self or others
 All
of ROS is subjective; PE is objective
Complete H&P - Objective
 History
is subjective; Physical assessment is
objective
– Objective portion of exam begins with the general
survey; Each body system reviewed in text has nursing
history at the beginning of the procedure for the
objective exam
– In actual practice, you get most of the history before
ever touching the client, but there are usually additional
history questions to ask during the exam
 Order
of exam - head to toe in systematic order
 Order of techniques - IPPA (Inspection, Palpation,
Percussion, Auscultation)
 Be systematic, but be flexible based on patient’s
needs
– When might you change order of exam?
 In
practice, you often will do “focused” PE examine only the pertinent parts
 PRIORITIZE (ABC’s, Maslow)
General Survey
 General
appearance, gait, nutrition status
(NOT to be confused with nutrition
history), state of dress, body build, obvious
disability, speech patterns, affect (mood),
hygiene, body odor, posture, race, gender,
height, weight, vital signs
 Height up to age 2 is recumbent
– Add head circumference if child is less than 2
years old
Integumentary System
– Integument includes skin, hair, and nails
 Inspect:
skin color and uniformity of color,
moisture, hair pattern, rashes, lesions, pallor,
edema
 Palpate: temperature, turgor, lesions, edema (see
pp. 536, 537, 539 on skin lesions; See box p. 538
on describing edema)
 Percussion and auscultation: rarely used on skin
 Terminology: pallor, cyanosis, edema,
ecchymosis, macule, papule, cyanosis, jaundice,
types of edema, vitiligo, hirsutism, alopecia, etc.
Integumentary System
 Hair
- texture, distribution, scalp, critters
 Nails - inspect and palpate
– Why palpate?
– Cyanosis - is it true or d/t cold?
– Blanch test (aka capillary refill or CFT): delayed return
of color indicates poor arterial circulation
– Clubbing - loss of normal angle between nail and nail
bed d/t chronic oxygen deprivation (picture p. 542)
– know terminology, draw diagrams, take
pictures
 Skin
HEENT
 Head
- inspection and palpation
– Size, shape, symmetry

Eyes - inspection and palpation
– Inspect and palpate lids, lashes, inspect eye position
and symmetry and position, symmetry and size of
pupils
– Visual acuity with Snellen chart
» 20/20 - first number (numerator) is distance from chart
» Second number is distance at which a normal eye could have
read that line (OU, OD, OS)
» Always record if tested cc (with correction)
Eyes




Visual acuity (Snellen for distance, Rosenbaum for near
vision)
Visual fields - assess peripheral vision
EOMs - checks 6 ocular movements; tests CN 3, 4, and 6
Pupil response to light and accommodation; Fig. 28-22, p.
530 and Box 28-9, p. 531 (PERRLA)
– Pupils constrict o light, and also to accommodate for near vision
(dilate for dimness and distance)




Direct and consensual pupil response
Corneal light reflex - checks eye alignment
Fundoscopic exam - ophthalmoscope
Terminology - myopia, presbyopia, ptosis, etc
Ears
 Inspection
and palpation
– Inspect size, shape, position, discharge, lesions
– Palpate for tenderness, any lesions
Review anatomy of ear and inner ear
 Gross hearing acuity: normal voice, whisper test,
Weber and Rinne (Box 28-15, p. 538)
 Internal ear (behind tympanic membrane) –
otoscope can look through TM (Figure 28-28 and
28-29, p. 537)

Nose and Sinuses
 Inspection,
palpation, percussion
 Inspect color of mucosa, presence of discharge
– There is a nasal speculum – most people don’t like it
– Assess for patency
Palpate for tenderness
 Percuss for tenderness over frontal and maxillary
sinuses (Procedure 28-8)

Mouth and Throat
 Inspection,
palpation, auscultation
 Inspect and palpate lips, tongue, oral cavity,
tonsils, pharynx (color, moisture), teeth, breath,
presence of exudate, erythema, lesions, palate
– Read differences in oral exam for elderly clients
– Enlarged tonsils are graded
»
»
»
»
Grade 1 – wnl
Grade 2 – tonsils b/w pillars and uvula
Grade 3 – tonsils touching uvula
Grade 4 – tonsils touching each other (kissing tonsils)
Campbell-Hoffman Grant
 Oral
health is strongly linked to overall
health
– Read through materials in packet
– Students will do complete oral assessment
during clinic visit, and then will have to do an
oral assessment on each patient they are
assigned to take care of
– Form
Throat and Neck
 Inspect
and palpate neck for trachea (should
be at midline), thyroid, lymph nodes (figure
28-42 and 43, p. 567)
 Auscultate carotids for bruits (bell)
– If bruit is heard, palpate for carotid thrill
– Palpate one side at a time
 Perform
ROM on neck (active and passive)
Thorax and Lungs
 Changes
in respiratory status can happen very
slowly, or very quickly, so respiratory status is
assessed carefully, and frequently
 See figure 28-47, p. 571 and figure 28-48 and 49,
p. 572 for chest landmarks - need to know angle
of Louis, how to count ribs, how to describe
locations, what is under the surface
– Landmarks are things felt or seen used to document
location of something
 Assess
size and shape of thorax
– Look for deformities (Fig. 28-52, p. 574)
– Barrel chest from asthma or COPD
Presence of supernumery nipples
 For efficiency, you usually assess posterior chest
first
 Intercostal spaces (ICS) are names according the
rib they lie beneath

– 4th rib lies superior to 4th ICS
– Posterior, you have to count spinous processes to name
ribs and ICSs
BREAK
Lungs
 Inspect,
Palpate, Percuss (normal note is
resonance), Auscultate (normal is clear and
equal bilaterally)
– Auscultate using diagram in Figure 28-55 and
28-59, p. 577-578
 Assess
and document respiratory rate,
rhythm, and effort
Respiratory Terminology
 Eupnea
 Tachypnea
 Bradypnea
 Apnea
 Hyperventilation
 Hypoventilation
 Dyspnea
Respiratory Warning Signs
 Anxious
expression
 Suprasternal & intercostal retractions
 Nasal flaring
 Circumoral cyanosis
 Hyperexpanded chest
– ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR ABCs
Breath Sounds
 Auscultate
using diaphragm, use a
systematic approach, compare each side to
the other, document when and where
sounds are heard
 Normal breath sounds: bronchovesicular,
bronchial, and vesicular
– Abnormal breath sounds are called adventitious
sounds
Breath Sounds
 Stridor
- may be heard without stethoscope, shrill
harsh sound on inspiration d/t laryngeal
obstruction
 Wheeze - may be heard with or without
stethoscope (document which), high-pitched
squeaky musical sound; usually not changed by
coughing; Document if heard on inspiration,
expiration, or both; May clear with cough
– Noise is caused by air moving through narrowed or
partially obstructed airway
– Heard in asthma or FBA
Breath Sounds

Crackles - heard only with stethoscope (formerly
called rales): fine, medium, coarse short crackling
sounds (think hair); May clear with cough
– Most commonly heard in bases; easier to hear on
inspiration (but occurs in both inspiration and
expiration)

Gurgles - heard only with stethoscope (formerly
called rhonchi): Low pitched, coarse wheezy or
whistling sound - usually more pronounced during
expiration when air moves through thick
secretions or narrowed airways – sounds like a
moan or snore; best heard on expiration (but occur
both in and out)
rub – Grating, creaking, or rubbing sound
heard on both inspiration and expiration; not
relieved by coughing; due to pleural inflammation
 Document breath sounds as clear, decreased or
absent, compare right to left, and describe type
and location of any adventitious sounds
 Friction
– CTAB or BBS cl + =
– NOT BS clear (BS could be bowel sounds . . .)
– respiratory rate is much faster, breath
sounds seem louder and harsher
 Infants
– Babies belly breathe, so watch abdomen for counting
respirations rather than watching chest (up to about age
6 years)

Elderly – Osteoporosis and postural changes can
decrease respiratory effort and function; cilia
decrease in number and function, so mucous is not
cleared as easily, putting elderly at increased risk
for respiratory infections
Video
Breasts and Axillae
 Inspection
and palpation
– Instruct female clients to perform BSE q month
– Men have some glandular tissue beneath nipple;
women have glandular tissue throughout breast and
into axilla
» Largest portion of glandular tissue in women in in upper outer
quadrant
» See box page 28-27, p. 588 on breast health guidelines
– Inspect for symmetry, contour (shape), look for any
areas of hyperpigmentation, retraction or dimpling,
edema
– Palpate breasts, areolae, nipples and axillary lymph
nodes in both men and women
» Be sure to include tail of Spence
– Newborns – may have breast swelling and/or milky
discharge from nipples for up to 2 weeks
– Tanner Staging is a sexual maturity rating; female
breast development is one of the things rated (5 stages)
– Gynecomastia – enlargement of breast tissue in males;
often occurs during puberty, and often affects only one
breast, or affects one more so size is not symmetric
– Pregnant women – breasts enlarge as glandular tissue
responds to pregnancy hormones to prepare for
breastfeeding
– Elderly – glandular tissue is replaced by fatty tissue,
and elasticity of connective tissue is lost after
menopause, both contribute to breasts becoming
pendulous or flaccid